Sir Richard Branson debates the future of food
Published on by Mike Shields (author)
Intelligent fridges, the growth of the ‘click and collect’ and the use of big data to improve traceability and restore public trust will play a key role in the food industry in the next 30 years, according to the conclusions of an event run last week by Virgin Media Business and Sir Richard Branson.
Small businesses in the food and drink sector came together on the EDF Energy London Eye, alongside the Founder and Chairman of the World Retail Congress, to brainstorm the biggest changes in the industry over the next 30 years, with the highlights presented at a reception chaired by Sir Richard.
The visions for the food industry included:
• Tapping into the Internet of Things with intelligent fridges and dustbins, helping people to understand their eating patterns and how much they’re throwing away
• Direct connectively between buyers and food suppliers, making local produce more accessible and affordable. Five companies – Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Co-op – control 80% of the British food market, while just 1% cent of food is locally sourced
• Using big data or devices like handheld scanners to tell you just how far your food has travelled and exactly what’s in it
Ian McGarrigle, Founder and Chairman, World Retail Congress, says: “One of the biggest challenges in the food industry - aside from feeding a growing population - is consumers’ increasing mistrust about the food they eat. Whether it's about horsemeat, fake manuka honey or the use of slavery in the prawn supply chain, people increasingly need to know exactly how their food has got to their plate.
"When it comes to fighting against food waste, in the future we could have intelligent fridges or store cupboards to tell us when we need more milk or what food is about to go off. Some countries already have intelligent dustbins to monitor how much people throw away and which food products are most wasted from month to month.
"Despite the range of small businesses involved, we also all agreed on what will stay the same - the demand for good quality food at a price that people believe in.”
Outside the food industry, other ideas included nanotechnology in our clothes so they can tell us if we're lacking vitamins or putting on too much weight; shop mirrors equipped with social interaction to allow friends to log on and give instant feedback; and virtual reality meetings.
Peter Kelly, Managing Director of Virgin Media Business, says: “Our country’s small businesses are real visionaries. Although the future is complex and unknown, they are ready to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.
“What we’ve seen at 30:30 shows that emerging innovations and technologies are being taken on by all sizes of businesses and organisations to cement their competitive advantage and be truly successful. And what better place to discuss the future than high over the City?”
The 30:30 Vision event saw start-ups and challenger businesses join industry leaders from: media and entertainment, food, fashion and beauty, social enterprise, retail and healthcare.
The challenger businesses in media and entertainment were:
• Yucoco – first online company in the UK that allows customers to design and personalise their own handmade chocolate
• Packed Munches - a subscription service sending boxes of British food to expats and Anglophiles across the globe
• Farmdrop - an online market place for real local food that allows consumers and producers to find each other and trade directly via weekly click-and-collect hubs
• Clarity - a farm-based testing system for animal health surveillance and food safety
• Wheyhey! – the world's first protein ice cream, free from sugar, low in fat and all natural
Six household names in business chaired the discussions aboard the Eye, including MacArthurGlen, Janssen Healthcare Innovation (part of Johnson & Johnson), AllSaints and BuzzFeed.
Sir Richard compared the visions of the future to his experiences of the last three decades.
He says: “The last 30 years have seen dramatic developments in how businesses operate and interact with their customers – not least the enormous possibilities generated by the internet and digital technology. It’s great to see the imagination and enthusiasm of the 30:30 Vision participants leading the way on showing how that vision might take shape."
Other visions for the future included a healthcare system which rebalances the relationship between doctors and patients and personalises healthcare; ordering food direct from farmers who are pulling up carrots as you click; and how we build trust around capturing our data to allow for greater personalisation of the services we use.
Small businesses in the food and drink sector came together on the EDF Energy London Eye, alongside the Founder and Chairman of the World Retail Congress, to brainstorm the biggest changes in the industry over the next 30 years, with the highlights presented at a reception chaired by Sir Richard.
The visions for the food industry included:
• Tapping into the Internet of Things with intelligent fridges and dustbins, helping people to understand their eating patterns and how much they’re throwing away
• Direct connectively between buyers and food suppliers, making local produce more accessible and affordable. Five companies – Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Co-op – control 80% of the British food market, while just 1% cent of food is locally sourced
• Using big data or devices like handheld scanners to tell you just how far your food has travelled and exactly what’s in it
Ian McGarrigle, Founder and Chairman, World Retail Congress, says: “One of the biggest challenges in the food industry - aside from feeding a growing population - is consumers’ increasing mistrust about the food they eat. Whether it's about horsemeat, fake manuka honey or the use of slavery in the prawn supply chain, people increasingly need to know exactly how their food has got to their plate.
"When it comes to fighting against food waste, in the future we could have intelligent fridges or store cupboards to tell us when we need more milk or what food is about to go off. Some countries already have intelligent dustbins to monitor how much people throw away and which food products are most wasted from month to month.
"Despite the range of small businesses involved, we also all agreed on what will stay the same - the demand for good quality food at a price that people believe in.”
Outside the food industry, other ideas included nanotechnology in our clothes so they can tell us if we're lacking vitamins or putting on too much weight; shop mirrors equipped with social interaction to allow friends to log on and give instant feedback; and virtual reality meetings.
Peter Kelly, Managing Director of Virgin Media Business, says: “Our country’s small businesses are real visionaries. Although the future is complex and unknown, they are ready to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.
“What we’ve seen at 30:30 shows that emerging innovations and technologies are being taken on by all sizes of businesses and organisations to cement their competitive advantage and be truly successful. And what better place to discuss the future than high over the City?”
The 30:30 Vision event saw start-ups and challenger businesses join industry leaders from: media and entertainment, food, fashion and beauty, social enterprise, retail and healthcare.
The challenger businesses in media and entertainment were:
• Yucoco – first online company in the UK that allows customers to design and personalise their own handmade chocolate
• Packed Munches - a subscription service sending boxes of British food to expats and Anglophiles across the globe
• Farmdrop - an online market place for real local food that allows consumers and producers to find each other and trade directly via weekly click-and-collect hubs
• Clarity - a farm-based testing system for animal health surveillance and food safety
• Wheyhey! – the world's first protein ice cream, free from sugar, low in fat and all natural
Six household names in business chaired the discussions aboard the Eye, including MacArthurGlen, Janssen Healthcare Innovation (part of Johnson & Johnson), AllSaints and BuzzFeed.
Sir Richard compared the visions of the future to his experiences of the last three decades.
He says: “The last 30 years have seen dramatic developments in how businesses operate and interact with their customers – not least the enormous possibilities generated by the internet and digital technology. It’s great to see the imagination and enthusiasm of the 30:30 Vision participants leading the way on showing how that vision might take shape."
Other visions for the future included a healthcare system which rebalances the relationship between doctors and patients and personalises healthcare; ordering food direct from farmers who are pulling up carrots as you click; and how we build trust around capturing our data to allow for greater personalisation of the services we use.
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